The biggest announcements to come from the developer's panel at PAX East are undoubtedly the four new DLC episodes, focusing on Ardyn, Lunafreya, Aranea and Noctis. It seems as though this new content will present fans with an alternate version of the Final Fantasy XV story, described during the panel as "a future everyone longed for." This alteration or addition to the game's story may see Ardyn and Noctis as allies rather than enemies.
Square Enix further gestured toward this storyline of the "future everyone longed for" by revealing some gorgeous new key art for the game, depicting the characters from the game enjoying a picnic with the story's primary antagonist, Ardyn. It's difficult to tell at this point if the youngsters in the picture are the wee versions of Luna and Noctis, or their children. (Also, what's happening with Gladio here?)
This wouldn't be the first time Final Fantasy XV has toyed with the concept of alternate realities. Episode Ignis, released back in December, presented a dramatically different fate for Noctis than the main campaign. The team behind the game also discussed alternate timelines back at GDC 2017, which we wrote about in detail here. Be sure to check out the PAX East panel rundown from the FFXV subreddit as well, as there's likely to be some smart speculation about what to expect from these new additions.
Jen Glennon is a wide-ranging enthusiast of pop culture, who covers film, television, gaming and broader social trends. She particularly enjoys ham and cheese sandwiches, British spies, Japanese gangsters, Real Housewives, and anything involving time travel.
Princess Luna, known as Nightmare Moon[4] or Night Mare Moon[5] when transformed or under certain other circumstances,[note 3] is an Alicorn pony, the younger sister of Princess Celestia, and the main antagonist of the season one premiere of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic as Nightmare Moon. She is also the adoptive aunt of Princess Cadance. Eventually, the Elements of Harmony restore Luna to her former self and she returns to rule over Equestria alongside her older sister. Princess Luna/Nightmare Moon is called by her respective early names Princess Selena/Night Mare in another depiction.
Her old design is still used in some merchandise, the online game Castle Creator, and the commercial The Fresh Princess of Friendship, and her old mane is partly visible in some shots. Lauren Faust has stated that when Luna is fully grown, she will not look like Nightmare Moon.[5] She also speculated that when Nightmare Moon was defeated, Luna was reborn with very low magic levels, and that her mane was eventually magical and wavy again because her good powers had been restored.[8]
Princess Luna is introduced in the prologue of the first episode, depicted in a series of medieval-style drawings with a narration that says, "Two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land," and that "the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night."
The narration continues by stating: their subjects, the ponies, played in the day but "shunned" the night and slept through it, which made the younger Alicorn grow bitter, eventually refusing to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. Her bitterness "transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon." The elder sister reluctantly harnessed the power of the Elements of Harmony and "banished her permanently in the moon," taking responsibility for both sun and moon, maintaining harmony in Equestria.
Following the prologue, Twilight Sparkle reads of a prophecy about the Mare in the Moon that states that "on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal." Indeed, this prophecy comes to pass, and Nightmare Moon appears before the ponies of Ponyville during the Summer Sun Celebration. At the end of the second episode, Twilight and her new friends confront Nightmare Moon and transform her back into Princess Luna with the Elements of Harmony, and she remorsefully accepts Princess Celestia's offer to rule by her side again.
The show's developer, Lauren Faust, explained in a comment on her DeviantArt page that Luna could not have been "drawn" from Nightmare Moon for a thousand years, and that Princess Celestia "did what she could" to orchestrate breaking the spell that turned Luna into Nightmare Moon. Faust added that this explanation is "as far as [she] ever got with it," and that the explanation might unfold differently on the show.[11]
In the season two episode Luna Eclipsed, Princess Luna appears during Ponyville's annual celebration of Nightmare Night, where ponies dress up in costumes and go door-to-door collecting candy. Luna wishes to join in the festivities, but her extravagant entrance, booming voice, and archaic way of speaking give the wrong impression, scaring nearly everyone she meets. Twilight Sparkle attempts to help, but her methods only alienate Luna from her subjects further and make them more afraid of her.
Luna bans the entire holiday out of offended anger, but she eventually learns from a foal named Pipsqueak that ponies like being scared on Nightmare Night and were merely pretending to be afraid of her all evening. Realizing that her subjects do not really hate her, Luna revokes her ban on Nightmare Night, and she is able to enjoy the festivities in earnest.
Luna makes cameo appearances in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1 and Part 2. In Part 1, Luna takes over the night shift from her sister after flying in silhouetted by the moon, and later tells Twilight to remain inside after spotting her running towards the castle. She appears again in the end of Part 2, when she flies in greeting everyone and asking if she missed anything. Luna dances with the other ponies after Pinkie Pie and DJ Pon-3 start the wedding party music which concludes the episode.
Luna makes brief appearances in The Crystal Empire - Part 1 and Part 2. In the first part, she expresses doubt to Celestia over whether Twilight is ready for her task. Celestia shows Twilight a flashback where the two sisters worked together to defeat King Sombra, turning him into a shadow with their magic and imprisoning him in the frozen north. Luna reappears at the end of Part 2. She and Celestia watch as Twilight and her friends return home. Luna then conjures up a spiral-bound book, as Celestia nods, confirming that her student is "much closer to being ready".
In the season three finale Magical Mystery Cure, Luna appears near the end of the episode alongside her sister and Princess Cadance, attending the coronation of Twilight Sparkle as a Princess. She can be seen wearing a dress and more ornate, elaborate versions of her crown, shoes, and collar. It is also revealed that the book Luna had produced at the end of The Crystal Empire was the journal of Star Swirl the Bearded, which contained an unfinished spell that Celestia believed Twilight to be capable of completing.
Luna makes appearances in Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1 and Part 2. In Part 1, while Princess Celestia speaks to Twilight about the Summer Sun Celebration, Luna is seen on a nearby castle balcony, happily raising the moon. During the episode, she is captured off-screen by black vines growing out of the Everfree Forest. When Twilight drinks a potion given to her by Zecora, she is transported into a castle, where she encounters Luna. Luna proclaims that she will be the only princess in Equestria, and she undergoes a transformation into Nightmare Moon, much to Twilight's horror.
In Part 2, Celestia arrives to the scene, and an aerial fight ensues. Twilight soon realizes that the potion has taken her to the past, and that she is witnessing the banishment of Nightmare Moon. Moments later, Celestia uses the Elements of Harmony to banish Luna to the moon. Twilight drinks the potion again and witnesses Luna and Celestia battling Discord and turning him to stone for the first time. She also sees the two sisters taking the Elements from the Tree of Harmony. Later, Twilight and her friends free her and Celestia in Part 2 by giving up the Elements of Harmony to the Tree of Harmony. At the end of Part 2, Luna takes part in the Summer Sun Celebration, lowering the moon so Celestia could raise the sun.
In Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1, Luna assists Celestia, Cadance and Twilight in welcoming the Duke and Duchess of Maretonia. Shortly after, Luna joins Celestia and Cadance in a song, admitting to Twilight that she understands how she is feeling. Later in the evening, Luna rushes into Celestia's room when she hears her scream from having a nightmare. She informs Celestia that she did not have a dream, but rather a vision. The next morning, she and Celestia tell Twilight the story of Lord Tirek and his brother Scorpan, and how Tirek was imprisoned in Tartarus. Luna mentions that they believe Tirek escaped during the events of It's About Time when Cerberus left his post and attacked Ponyville.
In The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2, due to Starlight Glimmer's alteration of the past, she inadvertently creates a future where Nightmare Moon deposes Princess Celestia, banishes her to the moon, and brings about eternal night. Catching word of Twilight Sparkle's method of time travel used to stop Starlight, Nightmare Moon expresses interest in using this magic to prevent the Elements of Harmony from being found, ensuring her eternal rule. However, Twilight gets away and rewrites the timeline before Nightmare Moon can act upon it. In a second alternate timeline, Luna and her sister fail to defeat Discord and are tormented by him as he rules Equestria.
In To Where and Back Again - Part 1, Princess Luna helps comfort Starlight Glimmer when she has a nightmare about her fellow villagers of Our Town. Later, Queen Chrysalis' changelings capture Luna, and she warns Starlight about them. At the end of Part 2, Luna is rescued along with the other captives, and she joins in celebrating the Sunset Festival in Our Town.
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